Southern Jezebel Sauce

Southern Jezebel Sauce will haunt your taste buds with fiery sweetness. It’s hot, yet sweet, made with the finest pineapple preserves, apricot preserves, apple jelly, horseradish, prepared mustard with a hint of lemon juice is perfect as a glaze for ham, a grilling sauce, condiment, or served as an appetizer. This tasty sauce hails from the South, such as the Mississippi Delta, Florida, and even Louisiana. It’s a Southern thing.

Southern Jezebel Sauce has long been a favorite at Southern Cocktail Parties and Church Potlucks dating back to the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. You can always count on a good laugh or at least one heck of a smirk from someone that asks what it is when I serve it over cream cheese as an appetizer. Of course, then they usually ask why it’s named that. I guess you can say the wickedly hot, spicy, yet sweet taste, reminds them of Jezebel from the bible. I’m not sure where I stand on that idea, but that’s what they say.

Through centuries, the name Jezebel came to be associated with false prophets. By the early 20th century, it was also associated with fallen or abandoned women. In Christian lore, a comparison to Jezebel suggested that a person was a pagan or an apostate masquerading as a servant of God. By manipulation and seduction, Jezebel misled the saints of God into sins of idolatry and sexual immorality.

Christians began to associate Jezebel with promiscuity. In the Middle Ages, the chronicler Matthew Paris criticised Isabella of Angoulême, the queen consort of John, King of England, by claiming that she was ‘more Jezebel than Isabel. In a more modern usage, the name Jezebel is sometimes used as a synonym for sexually promiscuous or controlling women, especially as a stereotype of women, the Jezebel stereotype.

This batch of Southern Jezebel Sauce has a bigger purpose in life than the image below of this Old Southern appetizer depicts below. Yes, I am going to use it as a grilling sauce this week for either chicken or shrimp. I’m not sure which but I’ts going to happen. I’m kind of in the mood for both of them but I’m not sure which one will end up happening, maybe both if we’re lucky. That can’t be a bad idea, can it?

Have you ever had the pleasure of tasting Southern Jezebel Sauce? If not this may just well be your lucky day to make and taste something from every Southern girl’s childhood. Trust me when I say, our Southern raised mamas love to slap that Southern Jezebel Sauce on almost everything, shrimp, pork, ham, fish, cream cheese, you name it they have slapped a bit of Jezebel over it at dinner. It’s just that darn good.

This simple to make appetizer pictured above is just my families Southern Jezebel Sauce spooned over cream cheese and topped with jalapeno slices to add a little more kick to the appetizer. The jalapeno slices are totally optional and not really part of the traditional Jezebel Sauce recipe.

I just love, love, love spicy jalapenos on mine. You can omit them if they are a bit too much for your tastes. There are a few variations of this recipe depending on where you are hailing from in the South so don’t be surprised if you see slightly different preserves being used in The Ms, Delta, or Louisianna, my style is the Florida way. My Mama’s recipe is the Delta River, Ms, way.

Ingredients needed to make Southern Jezebel Sauce

Southern Jezebel Sauce will haunt your taste buds with fiery sweetness. It’s hot, yet sweet, made with the finest pineapple preserves, apricot preserves, apple jelly, horseradish, prepared mustard with a hint of lemon juice is perfect as a glaze for ham, a grilling sauce, condiment, or served as an appetizer. This tasty sauce hails from the South, such as the Mississippi Delta, Florida, and even Louisiana. It’s a Southern thing.

Hello there, this is more of an at home thing here in the South, unless you run into an old Southern dinner you won’t much find it here on menus. We usually serve it at Potlucks and social functions mostly. Definitely make a batch to try though. Have a safe trip.

I’ve never heard of any kind of sauce like that – but I absolutely LOVE the sound of it. Great flavours and love the combination of fire and sweetness! I think I’m definitely going to have to give this a try.